Tuesday, November 8, 2011

{TWD} Maxi Madeleines

This week the other Tuesdays With Dorie selection (earlier today I posted Depths of Fall Butternut Squash Pie) gives a nod to Dorie Greenspan's French baking roots, with Mini Madeleines. Since I baked the recipe in a madeleine pan with full sized wells and they turned out quite large, I'm calling mine "Maxi Madeleines". But as good as these taste, I'm happy to have a bit more madeleine on the plate!

n.o.e.'s notes:

- This week's madeleine baking session is hosted by my Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook. Click over to her post to see some absolutely adorable mini madeleines, and get the recipe. While you're there, check out her other fabulous baking creations.

- These madeleines have honey and brown sugar and lemon zest among their ingredients - what a fantastic flavor combination.

- I made half recipe, which actually makes 7 or 8 full sized madeleines if your pan has the same sized wells as mine. My pan has only 6 wells; I divided the batter among the 6, and they were over-filled, as you can see from the extended madeleine edges. I probably should have put the extra batter in a ramekin to bake.

- The big issue when baking madeleines is getting the desirable "hump" on the backs of the cookies - that is, the batter should rise and be domed as the madeleines bake. I was lucky that there was a nice hump on the cookies I baked. After I baked mine, I saw a link that Di provided to a post by Dorie with some new madeleine techniques. It's always fun to see new tips to making baked goods even better.

the verdict:

These madeleines had a lovely texture and even lovelier flavor! They were a huge hit with my book group tasters and just about flew off the plate. I'd definitely bake these again!